Donald Trump released a 19-minute farewell address on Tuesday, touting his administration’s achievements and promising “the best is yet to come” in what is expected to be his final speech from the White House.
“This week, we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous. We extend our best wishes, and we also want them to have luck — a very important word,” Trump said at the top of his speech, which comes less than two weeks after inciting his supporters to lead a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The remarks (which work out to be about 58 tweets worth of praising himself) came on Trump’s last full day in office ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. He is expected to leave the White House Wednesday morning, going against longstanding tradition by skipping Biden’s swearing-in ceremony.
As in previous public statements following the Jan. 6 riot, the president made sure to condemn acts of violence: “Political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as Americans. It can never be tolerated.”
The president also thanked his family and supporters before going on to claim victories for his administration including “the strongest and most robust border security measures ever put into place,” heavy financial investment in the military and the three new justices appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Together, we put the American people back in charge of our country,” he said, reviving the populist messaging from both of his presidential campaigns. “We restored self-government.”
In the concluding moments of the address, the president asserted that the movement that elected him to office in 2016 “is only just beginning.”
“There’s never been anything like it,” he said. “The belief that a nation must serve its citizens will not dwindle but instead only grow stronger by the day.”